1st Impulse The Inevitable Talk
by Glimare
Summary: One Shot: Bart said both Nightwing and Robin's real names. Batman still has a gag order in place. If Bart's stuck in their time, they're going to have to have a talk.


**Disclaimer:** some people think on impulse I own this. Unfortunately I don't. DC does.

*SQWEEEE!* Impulse is here! Oh how I love Bart. Now we just need the foursome to get stuck on a squad together and see how they save the world! *does happy dance*

I have a feeling I'll be writing a few Impulse related stories from these future eps. So this one is the first impulse X3

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**1st Impulse - The Inevitable Talk**

Nightwing rubbed his head just moments after the newest speedster announced he couldn't go home. If the little imp couldn't go away, it was likely he was going to be part of their lives. Especially his. Bart was glued to his grandfather, and Wally still spent time with his aunt and uncle. And since Wally was his good friend and a kid with superspeed was going to need others his own age to play with freely (meaning the team), it was inevitable that he'd have to deal with him.

And that meant he'd have to have a long talk with him.

He already had a quick one with Gar. Unless he wanted Batman breathing down his neck for the rest of his life, not to mention Nightwing, Robin and Batgirl, he could never say his real name ever again. His or Robin's. He wasn't allowed to look into their real identities either. Just having a name mentioned once, Nightwing was hoping it would make the kid forget it soon. It was a good thing Dick and Tim stayed out of the news as much as possible. This could have been so much worse.

"Flash," the young man started to get both their attentions, "mind if I borrow your grandson for a few minutes?"

"Uhhhmmmm… I guess…" the scarlet speedster shrugged, not knowing what to do with the kid now.

"Are we gonna talk living arrangement?" Impulse started immediately. "Because if we are, I wanna live with grandma and grandpa. Or maybe the Garricks! Both would be so cool! I just don't see me living in a cave like the others. I mean, don't you live in a—"

Nightwing grabbed his arm, smiling in a pleasant yet threatening way. "Just need to lay some ground rules real quick. Robin."

"Oooohhhh… it's about that." Impulse didn't fight him, but he didn't exactly come willingly. The teen wonder followed as the acrobat near dragged the future kid to one of the adjoining rooms. Robin locked the door and sealed all sensors once they were in. Nightwing put his imitation of the batglare on, folding his arms at the kid. The speedster still didn't look scared. "So, on a scale of one to ten, how much trouble am I in?"

"Twenty," Nightwing stated tersely. "You may have compromised a lot of people's identities with that stunt you pulled on us earlier. And—"

"You're IDs are important, I get it." The youngest speedster on record threw up his hands in defeat. "I mean, it's not like you're an unknown person like Wallace is. You're Dick Grayson, adoptive son to billionaire philanthropist Bruce Wayne. Very high profile. And you are…"

Bart stopped for a moment when he looked to Robin, who was similarly scowling. He was clearly choosing his words wisely this time. "Tim Drake, son of Jack Drake, a lesser known business man, and also a close associate of Mister Wayne. Hey, do you think I could meet him? The famous Batman?"

"This isn't the time or place to go fanboy Bart," the adult there snapped. "This is really serious!"

"I know, I know. Can't give out identities. I know all about those gag orders you guys have. Well, now I do. What's with all the secret IDs anyway? It'd be a lot easier if you—"

"If you know who we are," Nightwing tried again, "then you know we could lose a lot if our identities are known. And not just us. Lots of people work under Bruce and help us out, inside and outside the mask. They would become targets. The mask isn't for us, it's for them."

"Oh." Impulse looked away for a moment, some guilt entering his face. "Well I guess that makes sense…"

"And another thing." The young man's eyes narrowed dangerously, actually scaring the kid for once. "If Batman ever does find out you know his ID, or any of ours, he will make your life hell. To protect yourself, you keep the secret. Got it?"

"Ooohhh yeah. I got it."

Seeing the terrified look on the boy's face satisfied the former boy wonder, letting him smirk slightly. Nightwing looked back to his successor. "Got anything to add?"

"Just one." Robin looked over the new speedster, trying to figure out why the costume reminded him of something. Still, the kid was from the future. It was likely it was based off of something he'd seen in the past. "You're a time traveler."

"Yes I am!" The guy didn't stay scared long it looked. Both of the vigilantes had to admire that.

"Meaning you know a lot about what will happen and what can happen in the next… What year are you from?"

"I traveled forty years back," he informed them quickly.

"Forty years." The young detective rubbed his chin for a moment, thinking hard. "That's a long time. Lots of things are going to happen before we reach a time you know nothing about."

"Told ya, history wasn't my best subject."

Robin's brow furled. The way the kid said it too fast made him think otherwise. "Regardless if it is or isn't, you can't talk about the future. You can't tell us a single thing about it. It could corrupt the timestream."

"Yeah, don't wanna crash the mode." The kid looked away slightly as he spoke, reminding both detectives he'd said that before. "But I'm stuck here, so I think I've already corrupted it a bit, right? What was that old TV show's favorite phrase? Wobbly wibbly timey?"

"Wibbly wobbly timey whimy," the two others said in unison. They exchanged brief glances, mentally shunning themselves for exposing their similar love for Doctor Who.

"Yeah that one!" Impulse seemed to gain strength as he spoke. "Time's in flux, nothing's fixed, just gotta make sure my parents are born and then later so am I, and I'm completely in the clear. Right?"

"It's more than just that…" Nightwing pinched the bridge of his nose. This kid was going to be a headache.

"Sounds like it to me."

Robin sighed heavily. "Look, fact of the matter is, we can't know our own future. As much as we'd like to, it's best for everyone, especially you if we don't. What you do or say here could also affect your memories, even your very existence. So please, no spoilers."

"What if what I say can prevent the end of the world as you know it?"

"Who's to say what you say won't cause it?" Nightwing countered. "Ever seen Paycheck?"

"Uuuuhhhhmmmm…"

"Take that as a no." The two sighed, shaking their heads before finishing this up. "We know you're trying to help, but seriously, don't tell us about the future or what we do. Since you already know our IDs regardless, you have to understand that we haven't told anyone on the team our civilian names. And we can't, not without endangering a lot of lives."

"But don't you—"

"We trust them," Nightwing stated quickly. "More than you'll ever know. But Bats is paranoid. Not telling them is also a way to protect them. From him and from our enemies."

"So no spoilers and don't call us by our civilian names around the others."

"Tim…"

"Hey, Wally knows who you are," Robin started with a slight smile. "It'd be nice to have someone outside of Gotham I can be completely myself with."

Impulse couldn't help but to smile broadly as the new teen wonder had somehow accepted him. Nightwinig had paused for a moment before huffing out a short laugh and shaking his head. "Alright, it's not all bad. But he's going to have to learn how to adapt to our timeframe. And that means learning what we all know in the here and now. Got it?"

Bart's grin grew exponentially. He darted forward first to Nightwing, hugging him tightly. "I won't let you down! Thank you so much for giving me the chance! This is the best day of my life!"

"Whoa, another hugger," Robin joked, getting a brief glare from his surrogate brother. It left the instant the teen was hugged as well. "Hey!"

"I just know we're gonna be great friends Tim! We'll play videogames, fight bad guys, each junk food, pull pranks on everyone, go training, go camping, save the world—"

"Let's start with getting you to watch and read every time travel story we can find first." The teen wonder pushed his new friend off of him awkwardly, not sure if he did the right thing or not this time. "Just so you know what could happen if you screw up."

"Sounds crash!" The speedster was grinning from ear to ear, letting go so he could drag him out the room to the others. "So, where are we going for this time travel marathon of yours?"

"We'll figure it out after you've got a place to live."

Nightwing rubbed his neck as the two walked off. This was going to be interesting, that was for certain. Who knew what this new kid was going to bring to the table. It was already clear to him something else was up and Bart hadn't said what because of the time travel thing. He didn't know the bat-clan personally or he'd have known that the worst impression he could give them off the bat was saying their real names. Course Tim did that too, but it was under entirely different circumstances. He hadn't worked with a future version of the team either, or he'd know his way around the cave better. He had been trained though; by who was the only real question.

Shaking his head, the acrobat followed after them. Bart, on his own, seemed harmless. Or at least harmless to them. During their earlier encounter, only Nightwing made contact with them. The other two were distracted and avoided. The guy wasn't trying to hurt anyone. Seemed like he really was his grandparent's kid, inside and out.

Which meant letting him and Tim become friends was a great idea. He grinned at the thought. About time the kid got out of his shell. Why not a speedster from the future as a best friend?

END

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A/N: okay, I'll admit it, I'm a whovian. Made Tim one too and made sure Dick knew what he was talking about. Love time travel. Almost as much fun as alternate dimensions. As for paycheck, it's a movie you should see about looking into the future and seeing that you've caused your own problems.

Like all the hints I gave off of how Bart's acting in the ep? of course Dick and Tim would pick up some bits on it. I can see Bart later dropping the really innocent naive act later in the series in order to save his family and the future. I think he may even try something with Blue Beetle (seriously, talked to my brother about Blue today and came to the conclusion that anyone who wants to predict YJ's future with him should see the brave and the bold series that got canceled recently. Jamie's there.) all things considered.

And in the end I'm making Tim and Bart get to know each other. Can't wait to see how their friendship plays. Now, Greg, make an almost standard Tim/Kon/Cassie/Bart team up! Then we can dig out arrowette or something to finish up a dream ep. X3

Til next time!

PS, still have poll on profile. Enjoy my random YJ one shots.


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